Southern California is mirroring a statewide increase in cases of sexually transmitted diseases for the third year in a row.

Of particular concern is the spike in the number of congenital syphilis cases, which are triggering a rise in the number of stillbirths caused by syphilis.

California has witnessed a 45 percent surge in STDs with 300,000 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis counted in 2017.

The number of babies born with syphilis has quadrupled from 2013 to 278 in 2017. Syphilis can cause lifelong disabilities such as blindness or brain damage and deformities of the bones and teeth.

Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have all seen increases over the last three years.

Los Angeles County, in particular has seen an alarming increase in congenital syphilis — from six cases in 2012 to 44 in 2017 — officials said.

New demographics

Also of note in Los Angeles County is the increase of syphilis cases in women, said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the county’s health officer.

Syphilis has historically been an issue for gay and bisexual men. Gunzenhauser said the number of syphilis cases in the county increased by 1,000 in just one year, from about 6,000 in 2016 to 7,000 in 2017.

“A third of that increase was among women,” he said, adding that poverty, drug abuse, mental health issues and lack of access to prenatal care are all factors in that increase.

Gunzenhauser said the drop in condom usage combined with the free availability of smart phone apps to hook up with partners may have contributed to this spike as well.

“Some of the people I’ve interviewed can’t even tell who their partner was,” he said. “With the availability of contraception, people have forgotten that these serious bacterial diseases can be transmitted if they are not using condoms.”

Anyone who is in a sexual relationship must be screened for STDs during annual visits to their primary care physicians, Gunzenhauser said.

Like Los Angeles, Riverside County has seen a 10-fold increase in congenital syphilis cases in the last three years, said Lea Morgan, branch chief for HIV and STDs at the Riverside County’s public health department. The number of syphilis cases in the Coachella Valley are four times higher than other regions in the county, she said.

“We need to study what is causing this increase and come up with solutions,” she said. Morgan said other STDs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia are also on the rise in Riverside County.

While Orange County’s numbers are below state averages, the county has seen a significant increase in all types of STDs over the last three years as well, according to the county’s Health Care Agency.

Syphilis cases in the county went up from 155 in 2012 to 475 in 2016. Gonorrhea was up from 1,165 to 2,973 cases and chlamydia increased from 8,690 cases to 12,597 in 2016. The county also went from having no cases of congenital syphilis to three cases in 2016.

Prevention

Prenatal screening is the best way to prevent congenital syphilis cases, said Dr. Heidi Bauer, chief STD control branch for the California Department of Public Health. People with syphilis often don’t experience symptoms and therefore, don’t know they have it.

California mandates STD screening for pregnant women during their initial prenatal visit, Bauer said. A third trimester screening is also recommended.

However, when women visit the doctor too late in the pregnancy, it’s difficult to treat them in time to prevent congenital syphilis, she said.

“We first noticed it in Fresno and Kern counties before it spread to Southern California,” she said. “Now we’re up to 278 cases and inching closer to 300 cases statewide.”

The key to prevention is awareness, Gunzenhauser said, adding that a disease like syphilis could “go silent” for years and surface later in life as a severe brain infection or affect the heart or nervous system.

“Anyone who is in a sexual relationship needs to realize they are at risk,” he said. “Women under 25 and men should get screened when they see a provider.”

Deepa Bharath covers religion for The Orange County Register and the Southern California Newspaper Group. Her work is focused on how religion, race and ethnicity shape our understanding of what it is to be American and how religion in particular helps influence public policies, laws and a region's culture. Deepa also writes about race, cultures and social justice issues. She has covered a number of other beats ranging from city government to breaking news for the Register since May 2006. She has received fellowships from the International Women's Media Foundation and the International Center for Journalists to report stories about reconciliation, counter-extremism and peace-building efforts around the world. When she is not working, she loves listening to Indian classical music and traveling with her husband and son.

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